"I was terrified," Ewa recalls. "I only had a poster and a notebook. Kids were coming in with machines and electricity and really fancy boards. I thought, 'There's no way that I'm going to be able to compete here.'"

"Every time I worked in the UC biology lab, I saw students working with professors. Outside in the hallway, they'd be sitting and having coffee together."

-- Ewa Szymanska '08

But she competed, and she won first prize in the natural sciences division and Grand Champion Runner-up, earning an invitation to the Intel International Science Fair in San Jose, CA. "Dr. Aaronson came up and introduced himself to me," says Szymanska. "He said that I did good research and presented it well, and said if I ever wanted to do real science to call him."

That was in 2001, when Ewa was in 10th grade. She took Aaronson up on his offer and has been doing research in Utica College's Gordon Science Center ever since. Now a biology major at UC, Ewa has collected numerous prizes for her work, including:

Grand Champion at the UC Science Fair in 2004

third prize at the international science fair in 2002

fourth prize at the international science fair in 2004

Ewa had been offered the opportunity to study at several of the top research universities in the country, but chose UC because she appreciated its strong curriculum and student-centered climate.

"Every time I worked in the lab, I saw students working with professors. Outside in the hallway, they'd be sitting and having coffee together. I saw students approach professors and the professors give 150 percent of themselves so the student could succeed. I don't know if I could get that anywhere else."